DVD Collectors Online

Demolition Man, a review by DJ Doena

Sylvester Stallone    ...    John Spartan
Wesley Snipes   ...    Simon Phoenix
Sandra Bullock   ...    Lt. Lenina Huxley
Nigel Hawthorne   ...    Dr. Raymond Cocteau
Benjamin Bratt   ...    Alfredo Garcia
Bob Gunton   ...    Chief George Earle
Glenn Shadix   ...    Associate Bob
Denis Leary   ...    Edgar Friendly

Synopsis: Los Angeles, 1996. Detective Spartan arrests the maniac Simon Phoenix but several hostages are killed in the process. Both Phoenix and Spartan are convicted and brought to the new cryo prison. San Angeles, 2032. Simon Phoenix manages to escape during a probation hearing and causes havox in a now peaceful world. Only an old-school cop like Spartan can stop an old-school criminal like Phoenix. But Spartan has a hard time to fit into a world where swearing is forbidden and Pizza Hut has won the franchise wars.

My Opinion: Yet another movie that takes itself too seriously. The action scenes between Sly and Wesley were quite enjoyable and the scenes between Sly and Sandra were really funny. I loved all those 80s references like Lethal Weapon, Love Boat and of course the side blow to Arnie and the "Schwarzenegger Library". The question this movie asks is whether we really would like to live in a over-nurturing, perfect and boring world like this or whether would belong to Friendly's rebels.

(From The "What I watch when I don't watch TV shows" thread on December 14th, 2008)

Ordeal in the Arctic, a review by Danae Cassandra

Ordeal in the Arctic
Year of Release: 1993
Directed By: Mark Sobel
Starring: Richard Chamberlain, Catherine Mary Stewart, Melanie Mayron, Scott Hylands, Page Fletcher
Genre: Drama, Disaster

Overview:
October 30th, 1991, a Canadian Airforce CC-130 Herc, Box Top 22 tail number 322, left Edmondton, via Greenland, on its way to Alert a top-secret military listening post on Ellesmere Island. The captain John Couch, could see the lights of the airstrip at Alert, so he decided to go by his eyes instead of his instruments. Eighteen passengers and only 5 were killed by the crash. Roland Pitre was the first to hit the ground, he was the loadmaster. Although they were only a few miles from the base of Alert, a blizzard and the terrain, made it impossible for help to be sent at once, although every effort was made to get to them.

My Thoughts:
The story is harrowing to think about, being trapped at the site of the crash in the Arctic for 32 hours, slowly freezing to death, and you can really feel that bitter cold just sitting on the couch, watching this film.  There is a lot of attention to keeping the film as realistic as possible, and to keep to the truth of the events.  For all its obvious low budget, I found the film to be quite well done.  Richard Chamberlain has long been a favorite of mine, and he does not disappoint me here.  His portrayal of the guilt-ridden pilot is the finest in the cast, though I thought they all did a good job.  Recommended if you like disaster films and/or true stories.

Bechdel Test:  Pass

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Within My (Mom's) Lifetime Marathon on March 28th, 2015)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Planetes: Complete Collection (2003/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 650 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: Commentary, English

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Plot:
In 2075 AD, regular commercials flights can take you to cities on the moon or space stations orbiting the Earth but there exists a threat that may seem trivial but left unchecked can prove fatal: space debris.

This is the story of the Debris Section of the space station ISPV-7 who diligently collects orbital debris to keep space travel safe. Hachirota "Hachimaki" Hoshino, an Experienced EVA (extra-vehicular activity) worker, toils away at his thankless job, hoping to one day own his own spaceship.


Planetes
1.01 Outside the Atmosphere
Writer: Makoto Yukimura (Created By), Ichiro Ohkouchi (Screenwriter)
Director: Goro Taniguchi
Cast: Original Japanese Main Cast), Kazunari Tanaka (Hachirota "Hachimaki" Hoshino (voice)), Satsuki Yukino (Ai Tanabe (voice)), Ai Orikasa (Fee Carmichael (voice)), Takehito Koyasu (Yuri Mihairokoh (voice)), Aikou Ogata (Philippe Myers (voice)), Tetsuo Goto (Arvind Lavie (voice)), Ryou Kamon (Dolf Azaria (voice)), Kumiko Watanabe (Claire Rondo (voice)), Maiko Ito (Edelgard Rivera (voice)), Masayo Kurata (Lucie Ascham (voice)), Nobuyuki Hiyama (Kho Cheng-Shin (voice)), Norio Wakamoto (Gigalt Gangaragash (voice)), Kyoji Kobayashi (Narrator (voice)), Original Japanese Guest Cast), Nana Yamaguchi (Fadlan's Daughter (voice)), Atsushi Kisaichi (Colin (voice)), Mika Kanai (Sia (voice)), Hiroyuki Shibamoto (Father (voice)), Megumi Urawa (Mother (voice)), Takeshi Kusao (Pickpocket (voice)), English Voice Cast), Kirk Thornton (Hachirota "Hachimaki" Hoshino (voice)), Julie Ann Taylor (Ai Tanabe (voice)), Wendee Lee (Fee Carmichael (voice)), Jamieson Price (Yuri Mihairokoh (voice)), Doug Stone (Philippe Myers (voice)), Steve Schatzberg (Arvind Lavie (voice)), Michael McConnohie (Dolf Azaria (voice)), Lia Sargent (Claire Rondo (voice)), Kate Higgins (Edelgard Rivera (voice)), Michelle Ruff (Lucie Ascham/Sia (voice)), Steve Jay Blum (Kho Cheng-Shin (voice)), Dave Mallow (Narrator (voice)), Dorothy Fahn (Noppo (voice)), Jessica Gee (Kone (voice)), Tony Oliver (Yankees (voice)), Barbara Goodson (Fadlan's Daughter (voice)), Crispin Freeman (Colin (voice)), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Female Solicitor (voice)), Lex Lang (Father (voice)), Karen Strassman (Mother (voice)), Christopher Smith (Pickpocket (voice)), Bob Papenbrook (Director (voice)), Steve Kramer (Additional Voices (voice)), Dave Wittenberg (Additional Voices (voice)), Mari Devon (Additional Voices (voice))

A series I enjoyed but not necessarily something I will revisit. This episode has good animation and is a good introduction, but nothing really special.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 24th, 2012)